When It Counts
by Kayiza
Summary: Revamped Version. GaaHina. Gaara is the CEO of Suna Industries. His entire life seems set, his dark past perfectly under wraps, until fate landed the soft spoken Hinata Hyuga in the post of his secretary, perhaps unwitting that all his painstakingly built walls would crumble at her touch, for she has built walls of her own too. After all, when it counts, no wall can change destiny.


**Chapter 1: Coffee & Cinnamon**

 **A/N: So, this is a rewrite of an older version of a story I had already published here. And since GaaHina is one of my favorite Naruto het ships, I just had to write an AU for these two cuties. And this story is rated M just to be safe, I'll only include a lemon if the reviews demand for one. Anyway, the beginning will be pretty slow paced, but trust me, I know where this story is going ( & brownie points if you can guess it).**

 **Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto. Not me. If I owned Naruto, I'd have drawn Sasuke topless a few more times, just saying…**

Gaara sat at the edge of his seat, lithe fingers tapping impatiently on the worn-to-smoothness teak table. His day had started out on an awful note, and it was far worse than just waking up on the wrong side of the bed. He had stayed up late the previous night covering his ever-so-busy sister's shift which lead him to waking up half an hour late, with his permanent dark circles darker than ever, a scowl meeting his reflection as the mirror image reminded him of a raccoon, before moving on to shower, which had been a cold one thanks to the solar hating system deciding to randomly act up.

Shivering and mentally cursing, he had walked into his closet and pulled out his white dress shirt, except it was a bright shade of pink, which he could only deem as the after-effect of having it thrown in the washing machine along with Temari's red dress. And of course he didn't have time to get the butler to iron another shirt for him.

Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, his coffee maker short circuited, and he could simply not not have coffee! And now the damn waitress seemed to have forgotten his existence! Of course, she may have been busy with the other customers, but that didn't lessen the irritation he masked behind his stoic expression.

He suddenly realized that his features had twisted into a frown, his withering glare expression penetrating the woman who was just about take the seat opposite to him, who was only too quick to flee.

He felt a twinge of regret for landing himself in a situation that made him have to come to the small diner. The sweet scent of cinnamon seemed to overpower the strong smell of coffee, and Gaara wasn't sure he like that. The sheer desperation to obtain his daily dose of caffeine far outweighed his reservations regarding eating in the odd-smelling place. He held back a sigh of exasperation as the minute hand of the clock got closer to twelve. Not one to panic and fidget, he decided to divert his mind in a feeble attempt to make the wait seem less long. He wasn't one to wait either, unfortunately. Turquoise orbs scanned around the room, taking in the crowded, yet strangely comforting atmosphere of the little eatery. His eyes slowly moved to the entrance of the diner as a little ding announced the entry of yet another customer.

 _As if the place isn't crowded enough already_ , he scowled.

His calculating gaze lingered on the pale stranger, more out of boredom than fascination. The new addition to the crowd sported a light gray coat over her pale lavender shirt. A mundane sight.

Soft, pale gray orbs slowly scanned the crowd for a possible place to sit, as the ravenette's fingers nervously fiddled with her long lavender scarf. Gaara continued to observe her as she cautiously approached his table, gulping slightly upon noticing the cold, penetrating gaze, giving the place a quick once over, disappointment ever so slightly gracing her ethereal features.

"C-Can I sit here?" she asked politely, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lavender hues met his own, as he gave her a momentary glance, before nodding quickly as he pretended to stare at the rather uninteresting texture of the wooden table before him.

"Th-thank you." she replied quietly, her reply almost drowned by the sounds of people and machines alike, as she took to staring at her lap uncomfortably. He continued to stare at the swirly concentric oval pattern of the wooden table as he heard a soft sigh escape her pink lips. He looked up from the corner of her eye, only to see her thoughtfully biting her lower lip while throwing nervous glances at the wall clock.

She didn't seem as comfortable with the silence and he did. And frankly, he didn't care. The annoyance the wait was causing him was slowly creeping up to him, not to mention the fear that he just might end up breaking his perfect record for punctuality. He needed to keep his cool, just for a little longer.

"Running late?" his curt voice ripped through the quietness, an amused smirk threatening to form on the corner of his lips as lavender orbs widened, as she let out an inaudible squeak of surprise, her face quick to take on a bright red hue that would make a firetruck jealous. His cool gaze met her own shocked one. Slowly exhaling, she blinked a couple of times before nervously balling her fists in her lap, trying to overcome her shock and form coherent words.

"N-not really. Its just...T-today is the f-first day of m-my new job...umm... C-cold feet?" a weak laugh spilled from her lips, digits tensing in her lap.

"I see." A nod accompanied by furrowing of eyebrows, "What job?"

"An assistant t-to the CEO of a c-company."

He propped up his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his interlaced digits, his smooth voice taking on a professional tone, "In most companies, the CEO interviews his own assistants. In that case, you've already met him, and there should be nothing to be worried about, right?" he stated, before adding as an afterthought, "Unless, of course, he made quite a despicable first impression."

"Ah, i-its nothing like that. I-I haven't met him yet. The CEO of th-this company didn't do so. I-I was interviewed b-by the vice p-president of the c-company as the CEO w-wasn't present." the pale woman replied, a small smile betraying the fingers that continued to nervously tug the end of her scarf, "Sh-she was a n-nice woman. B-but as I w-was leaving the b-building, I heard some p-people discussing that the CEO w-was...w-well...umm..." she trailed off and pressed her lips into a thin line.

He didn't know if it was the lack of ability to explain that stopped her, or that she simply didn't want to trash talk her boss.

"Was?" he pressed, his fingers drumming the table impatiently.

"A s-slave driver." she whispered darkly after a moment of hesitation, before hastily adding, "B-but if he's a CEO of a company so successful, it's only a t-testament to the fact th-that his method, n-no matter how…ah─ brutal, they may seem, actually w-work. B-besides, I'm pretty sure they were only j-joking around b-because they d-don't seem to h-hate their boss."

He gave her a momentary blank stare, chuckling inwardly at her explanation. She didn't even know the guy and she was defending him. And though the gesture would've seemed noble to anyone else, he found it silly. Trusting someone to be a good person was something that required years of observation and testing, and even then, it would only take a moment for them to turn their back on you. To meet a girl to naïve, so trusting, was rare, and not to mention, quite entertaining and insightful.

"Then what is the problem?" he asked, with genuine curiosity, amusement still hiding behind the composed visage.

"I-it's not funny… S-some of them a-are actually a-afraid of him!" her quiet voice took on a slight hysterical edge.

Gaara was mildly taken aback the woman's ability to see through his expression. Nobody could see through his blank facade. Nobody except perhaps Kankuro and Temari, but even they had needed years of practice. Perhaps she had a gift.

 _That could be a very bad thing_ , he thought to himself like the mild pessimist he was.

His train of thought was interrupted by the gentle clink of his coffee cup hitting the table. The waitress threw him an apologetic smile as she maneuvered herself around the messy assortment of tables.

"I didn't say it was." he replied flatly with feigned innocence as he sipped the bitter brown-black liquid from the cup, "Anyway, you never told me your name…?"

"H-Hinata. Hinata Hyuga." she replied distractedly, as she continued to twirl the edge of her scarf, pale eyes meeting the clock once more.

Gaara froze momentarily upon hearing the name. He drained the remainder of his coffee in one gulp, wincing slightly at the burning sensation that took effect in his throat, and stole a quick glance at his watch. He had to leave, after all, he had to be just on time for an introductory meeting.

"I'm running late, miss Hyuga. I must leave now. We'll meet again soon." he stated evenly as he picked up his briefcase.

Hinata's face instantly regained its original ivory complexion. She wore an expression of mild disappointment as she gave him a little nod, not meeting his eye. And before she realized it, he was gone. It was only a couple of minutes after the red-haired man disappeared that she realized with a twinge of regret that she had forgotten to ask him his name.

And did he just say that he was going to be meeting her again?

The blush returned with twice the original vigor.

 **A/N: Okayyyy, so that's it for now. Onto chapter two! My update speed is directly proportional to the number of reviews y'all give me, so *opens arms* come at me, bruh!**


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